{"title":"Handling Sexual Harassment Complaints in Sri Lanka: Fair Process and Best Practices","authors":"A. Adikaram, Pavithra Kailasapathy","doi":"10.1177/2322093720934580","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Sexual harassment at the workplace continues to be an issue all over the world. While there are many policies with well laid-out procedures specifying the process to follow when complaints of sexual harassment are received, there is still a lack of knowledge on actual practices of handling sexual harassment complaints and best practices. Data were collected from 35 HR professionals (HRPs) from over 30 companies in Sri Lanka on how sexual harassment complaints were handled. Based on this empirical evidence and literature as well as the theory of organisational justice, a six-stage process that HRPs should follow for a fair, just and effective handling of sexual harassment complaints is proposed. The process comprises of (a) complaint stage, (b) assessment of complaint stage, (c) investigation stage, (d) action stage, (e) appeal stage and (f) post-settlement stage. Best practices of handling sexual harassment complaints identified through the empirical data and literature are also highlighted.","PeriodicalId":42119,"journal":{"name":"South Asian Journal of Human Resource Management","volume":"51 1","pages":"293 - 314"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2020-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"South Asian Journal of Human Resource Management","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2322093720934580","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"MANAGEMENT","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
Sexual harassment at the workplace continues to be an issue all over the world. While there are many policies with well laid-out procedures specifying the process to follow when complaints of sexual harassment are received, there is still a lack of knowledge on actual practices of handling sexual harassment complaints and best practices. Data were collected from 35 HR professionals (HRPs) from over 30 companies in Sri Lanka on how sexual harassment complaints were handled. Based on this empirical evidence and literature as well as the theory of organisational justice, a six-stage process that HRPs should follow for a fair, just and effective handling of sexual harassment complaints is proposed. The process comprises of (a) complaint stage, (b) assessment of complaint stage, (c) investigation stage, (d) action stage, (e) appeal stage and (f) post-settlement stage. Best practices of handling sexual harassment complaints identified through the empirical data and literature are also highlighted.
期刊介绍:
South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management (SAJHRM) is a peer-reviewed scholarly outlet for publications on HRM in and out of South Asia. It includes countries that are members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), namely, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In terms of the discipline focus, all articles broadly focusing on the theory and practice of managing human resources for the benefit of individuals, firms and community at large will be acceptable. In view of the contemporary focus on Strategic HRM, the journal coverage would also include comparative research and other related management disciplines as long as one of the key aims of the manuscript is on harnessing the potential of human capital. Considering the uneven economic development within the South Asian region, the journal encourages potential authors to explore broader implications of their scholarly views and findings on the region as a whole. A distinguishing feature of the journal is its focus on “HR in Practice”. Apart from theory, it will pay significant attention on how HRM is practiced in and out of South Asia. The journal features conceptual and empirical research papers, research notes, interviews, case studies and book reviews. In short, to be considered for publication, a manuscript should broadly focus on managing people and contextualised within one or more South Asian countries at the firm, regional, national and international levels.